


Absent Airplanes

by ImaginationCubed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Friendships, Friendship, Gen, Minor James Griffin/Keith (Voltron), Some Humor, stuck in an airport
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 02:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationCubed/pseuds/ImaginationCubed
Summary: No one ever plans to have their flight cancelled, especially not when the next one didn't depart until well into the next morning.At least the three strangers sitting with him seemed trustworthy enough.





	Absent Airplanes

“Due to inclement weather, all future flights have been cancelled until further notice. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.”

James glanced up at the flat screen displaying the incoming and departing flights. Brown eyes scrambled to find his identifying flight number, a wave of panic flooding through his veins as the words next to it flashed  _ cancelled _ . His intended fellow passengers began to rise around him, each one slowly realizing they had all been resigned to the same fate. 

Lightning cracked on the runway before the intimidating roar of thunder snapped him out of his trance. Rain pelted on glass windows as he snatched his carry on with one hand and pushed himself up with the other, heading towards the growing group of disgruntled customers. 

Of course this would happen. He should’ve been smarter than to plan his flight for the same day as his last final. He could’ve registered with his school to stay an extra day in the dorms, but no, he just had to try and make his afternoon as efficient as possible. 

His carry on hit the ground with a thud as his body collided with another person. The world became unbalanced for several elongated seconds before he joined his bag, falling hard on his ass. James tilted his head back and released a drawn out sigh.

The stranger reached out his free hand to James. “You okay?” He was clad in a pair of joggers and a familiar university brand sweatshirt. The school in question was on the other side of the city from his own university. It was much smaller, and more well known for its art programs over its technological ones, but for those who enjoyed a more creative and intimate atmosphere for their learning environment it had a positive reputation.

At least he wasn’t the only college student stuck in this mess. Strength in numbers.

He took the stranger’s offer, gripping the hand tightly as he allowed himself to be pulled up by the other man’s strength. After steadying himself, he scooped up his carry on and stuck out his right hand. “Thanks, I’m James.”

A smile spread across the other man’s face as he shook James’s hand. “Ryan. I assume you were supposed to be on the flight to Arizona too?”

“Yeah.” James readjusted his hold on his bag. “I just wanted to go home after my finals, but I guess we’re going to be stuck here for another few hours.”

“Are you from Arizona?” Ryan asked as he meandered through the chaotic line.

James nodded. “You could say I’m a ways away from home.”

“What made you come to school out here?” Ryan inquired.

“The engineering program gave me a full ride.” James stepped forwards and filled the gap between him and the person ahead. “What’s bringing you to Arizona?”

“Internship interview.”

“Well, good luck.” James turned his head to continue facing Ryan. “I hope you make it on time.”

Ryan gave him an appreciative nod.

James focused his attention to the lady running the desk. She adorned the normal airline uniform and her strawberry blonde hair bounced as she moved her gaze from the computer to James. “How may I help you?”

“My flight was just cancelled. When’s the next one to Phoenix tonight?” James leaned his weight onto the the ledge of the desk.

The woman’s green eyes flicked over to the monitor as she tapped away on her keyboard. After a minute of continuous clacking she returned her attention over to James. “I’m sorry sir, but the next flights to Phoenix all seem to be departing tomorrow morning at the earliest.”

“What?” James’s eyes widened. “But I was supposed to be home by tonight.”

“We’re sorry sir. But, the airline will cover the full cost of your rescheduled flight. When would you like to depart?” She kept her smile plastered onto her face. 

_ Today. _ Though that word never left his mouth. Something in the way she carried herself gave James the feeling that he was definitely not the first unhappy customer she had dealt with in the last hour, and he already knew there was no way in the universe’s existence that he would be the last either. 

It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t cause the rain. It was just an unfortunate occurrence that had managed to inconvenience them all at once.

James breathed a sigh, eliminating any anger that had bubbled close to the surface. “What do you have open?”

Her demeanor lightened immediately at his kind response. “The first available flight is tomorrow morning at seven. Is that alright?” 

“Yeah.” He pulled out his smartphone and tapped the new plans into his calendar. “Do you have anywhere to stay the night?”

She frowned. “Unfortunately, the airline doesn’t provide that type of compensation. You’ll be responsible for your own lodging tonight.”

“Great,” He mumbled sarcastically to himself, “Thanks. Will you send me my new boarding pass?”

“Yes of course. It should be connected to your account.” She ran her manicured nails through her hair as she clicked through the screen presented to her.

“Alright. Thanks again.” He waved her off politely as he stepped to the side. Great. He was stranded in Denver overnight with no money and nowhere to sleep. 

Taking a step back he slumped into an empty chair in the gate waiting room. Letting his face fall into his hands, he gave his bangs a good tug in his frustration. He slipped his iPhone from his pocket, glancing at the time at the top of the screen. 5:32 p.m.. Thirteen and a half hours until he’d be boarding his plane, the majority of those hours including a lack of sunlight and food.

His stomach let out a disgruntled noise. Food. That was a thing. A thing he’d forgotten to indulge himself with since he’d woken up for an early study session this morning. If he didn’t have a bed, he might as well treat himself to a makeshift airport meal. 

He rose to his feet, ambling over to the foot court, carry on bag slapping against his side as he wove through the crowds of discontented customers. Clicking through his phone, he glided his finger across until his bank logo took over the screen. After a brief loading period, an array of pitiful numbers presented themselves on the device. 

It wasn’t as if he thought he had enough money for a hotel anyway. He might as well feed himself still, at least one of his two needs would be satisfied.

He grabbed a plastic wrapped sandwich and a prepackaged salad from the open fridge. Stepping forward to the register, he inserted his debit card and signed the receipt before scanning the packed area for a place to sit. Each and every worn white table sat occupied as he wandered aimlessly around the tile-coated floor, searching for a single scrap of a free surface to eat on. 

A few tables remained occupied by a singular person. One by an older man in a gray sweatshirt with a large stain on it, and another by a well dressed business lady who seemed extremely preoccupied with her laptop as she babbled away on her phone. The last table had three open seats, the fourth taken by a younger woman with short blonde hair. Her cheeks were decorated with an array of freckles and her blue eyes remained eternally glued to whatever was on her iPad. The device’s brightly colored case was undoubtedly familiar, adorning his own university’s logo on the back of it. 

It wasn’t weird to ask if he could join her, right? They went to the same university after all, it wasn’t like he was approaching someone who he had no opportunity to run into again. For all he knew he’d see her in the dining hall next semester. 

He sauntered over to her. “Can I sit here?”

She peered up at him and nodded.

James set his food down onto the table and peeled the wrapper off his sandwich. “I go to Taujeer too.”

“Your flight was cancelled, right?” She asked, eyes never leaving her iPad.

“Mhm. The next one isn’t leaving until six tomorrow.”

“You’re stuck here too then. Do you know if there’s anywhere inexpensive to stay around here?” 

“I’m looking on TripAdvisor. I can’t afford any of them,” She said plainly, “I’m going to assume you can’t either.”

James opened his mouth to defend himself, then closed it. She was right. He didn’t even know the price, but she was right. He didn’t even have three digits in his bank account.

“Can I join you?”

Brown eyes glanced up. Ryan stood tall above them, bags and food in hand. 

“Yeah.” James gestured to the empty seat next to him. Ryan lowered himself to join the duo before James continued, “We’re looking for places to stay tonight.”

“I can’t afford any of the ones the airline recommended,” Ryan informed, “Luckily my interview isn’t until tomorrow night.”

“Oh.” James turned his attention to his fellow student. “I never got your name.”

“Ina.”

“I’m James. This is Ryan. He goes to Naxzela,” James replied, “His flight was also cancelled. We should—”

“Hey!” A brunette with her hair tied back took the last empty seat. She was clad in a open zip up jacket and a t-shirt with large sorority letters ironed onto it. “Can you believe any of this?”

“Nope. Especially considering none of us have anywhere to stay tonight.” James took a bite of his sandwich.

“I’m Nadia, by the way.” She extended her hand to James.

James swallowed his food and shook her hand. “James.”

“Ryan.”

“Ina.”

“Do you guys all know each other?” Nadia asked.

James shook his head. “We all met just now. Do you at least have somewhere to stay tonight? We’re all looking for an affordable one.”

“That’s actually what I was hoping one of you would know.” Nadia let out a semi-dramatic sigh, “They cancelled my flight and the next one isn’t until tomorrow. Where were you guys headed?”

“Phoenix,” James said.

Ryan nodded.

Ina spoke, “Seattle.”

“I was headed for Sacramento,” Nadia informed, “But I guess we’re all stuck in Denver until the rain stops.”

James crossed his arms on the table and dropped his head into them with a long sigh. “I just wanted to go home today.” Of course he was stuck at an airport after finals. Of course he couldn’t just go home. Instead, he was stuck scrambling for a place to sleep. But, honestly, at this point he would sleep on a floor if it meant a roof over his head and a safe place to store his luggage for the night.

“I mean… how do you guys feel about maybe going four ways on a room?” Nadia suggested, “We’re all in college. Would it really be that much different from a dorm?”

She  _ did _ have a point. Living in a dorm was essentially moving in with a bunch of strangers anyway. One night with a few people he just met couldn’t go  _ that _ horrible. “I’d be interested,” James replied, eyes moving to the other two at the table.

Ryan shrugged nonchalantly.

James focused his gaze on Ina.

“I don’t know,” She replied, “We’re all complete strangers. College students or not.”

“Yeah, but isn’t living at school the same thing?” Nadia pointed out, “Your roommate was a stranger before your college told you to go live with them.”

“I talked to my roommate for more than fifteen minutes before agreeing to live with her,” Ina defended.

“I know it’s not ideal,” James said gently, “But, you said you didn’t have money to stay somewhere until your flight. We’re just helping each other out in an unfortunate situation. None of us have money for our own room, but we all need somewhere to sleep.” 

Ina’s eyes flicked down to the table. She bit her bottom lip and remained silent.

James continued, “I’m not keen on it either. But, I don’t want to see you have nowhere to go tonight.” 

“Alright.” Ina moved her eyes back to her iPad. Her finger met the screen a few times before she spoke again, “There’s an open room two miles away.”

“We can all share an Uber,” Nadia said.

“When we’re done eating we can head over to get our bags back and leave from there,” James suggested.

“Great! Everyone in agreement?” Nadia scanned the rest of the group for objections, “Awesome. Send me the money on Venmo and I’ll book us the room.”

* * *

James inserted the plastic hotel key into the door, then removed it. Red light. He tried again. Green light. He leaned down onto the handle and shouldered the door open. Placing his foot in front of the door, he waited for his companions to enter before letting it swing closed.

Nadia fell back onto the bed closest to the doorway. “So Ina has the earliest flight tomorrow. And mine’s last. So you guys can just bounce when you need to leave in the morning. I’ll take care of the check out.”

“Thanks.” Ryan rested his bags onto the only table in the room. “Does anyone mind if I film a vlog while we’re here. I’m supposed to post one tomorrow to stay on schedule.”

“Fine with me.” James sat back into the available chair. He took the ruined curtains into hand, examining them as the dim lights above shown through the cigarette burns. Between this place and the plane, he needed to boil himself when he got home. “Speaking of schedules, I should probably tell my boyfriend I won’t be home until tomorrow.”

“Anyone else?” Ryan asked once more.

Ina shook her head.

“Go for it.” Nadia flashed Ryan a thumbs up.

Ryan unzipped the bag and pulled out a flashy camera and a small tripod. He set the camera onto the mount and turns it on before angling a small screen towards himself. “This is Ryan with RKPhotography. Make sure you check out last week’s video and don’t forget to subscribe. Yes, I am in a hotel room. I was supposed to be on a flight to Phoenix this afternoon, but the weather here has been pretty bad so it was cancelled until tomorrow. Hopefully everything will go as planned and I’ll be at my internship interview by tomorrow evening. But, I’ve met a few new people, so overall the experience could’ve been worse.” He continued on with the video, going over something related to a photo developing process as he delved deeper into the video.

When he clicked the camera off Nadia stalked over to him. “So how many followers does your channel have?”

“Two thousand thirty four,” Ryan replied.

“Really?” She peered over into his open bag. “Why do you travel with so many cameras?”

“I’m a photography major.” Ryan began to dismantle the mini tripod. “I’m going for an internship photographing models in Phoenix.”

“Hm.” Nadia raised an eyebrow at Ryan. “So two thousand people follow a vlog about photography?” Ryan nodded before she continued, “I guess if you like photography… but don’t people ever get bored?”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” Ryan said.

“Huh…” Nadia sat down on the carpet. “How long have you been at it?”

“Two years. Started as a class assignment, but I realized I liked video editing and kept at it. I’m actually meeting a fan while I’m in Phoenix,” Ryan informed.

Nadia turned her attention to the bed closest to the window. Ina sat leaning against the headboard and propping her iPad up with her thighs. “What about you, Ina? Why are you going to Seattle?”

Ina’s eyes flicked up. “I have family there. They really wanted me to visit so I told them I’d go for a week after my finals.”

“Where are you actually from?” Nadia asked.

“Vail,” Ina said.

“What about you, James?” Nadia turned her attention to James.

“I live outside Phoenix. I was hoping to be home tonight though, my boyfriend has a show tomorrow and I was hoping to make it.” 

Nadia moved closer to him. “What’s he do?” 

“He’s the frontman for a band. Voltron.” James tapped out a message on his phone.

“ _ Wait _ , your boyfriend is Keith? The one with all the piercings and tattoos?” Nadia exclaimed, “No way! He doesn’t seem like your type at all. He’s so edgy and emo, and you’re so…”

James looked at her unamused. “I’m what?”

“Preppy?” Nadia gestured to his outfit. “I mean, who wears a collared shirt to the airport in college?”

James crossed his arms over his chest. “Sorry I like to dress nice.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Nadia waved her hand as she spoke, “Tell us what it’s like dating a musician.” 

James shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve been together since high school. It’s never been anything new.”

“Okay, but it has to be pretty cool. Having someone sing songs about you. Getting to go backstage. Is it true Shiro broke up with Adam? What about Lance? Is he actually a real flirt? No, wait! How’s Pidge in person? Allura? What about Hunk? Is he really that much of a dork?” Nadia leaned towards him excitedly.

James stuck out one finger for each answer. “Yes, they did. Lance is a flirt, but he’s a lot more into guys than you’d think. Pidge is the reason for any and all pyrotechnics that get used. Allura is probably the reason the band is still functioning. And yes, Hunk is a huge dork. He made the whole band instrument shaped cookies once.”

“Lance is actually the fan I’m meeting in Phoenix.” Ryan said.

Nadia whipped her head to face Ryan. “No way!” 

“Yeah, we’ve been talking for a while actually.” Ryan scooted his chair closer. “He’s really nice.” 

“Wow.” Nadia fell back onto the floor. “Everyone out here meeting celebrities but me.”

“I wouldn’t really call a Youtube famous band celebrities,” Ina added.

“Ina’s right. Trust me. They’re not your normal celebrities. They’re a bunch of friends just doing what they love. Which, for Keith,” James sighed, “happens to be making sure people can’t tell him what to do.”

“How are you two a couple again?” Nadia questioned jokingly.

“Opposites attract?” James shrugged. “Anyway, I’m going to go to bed so I can make my flight.” James set an alarm in his phone and plugged it into the wall. “But, you’re all alright. Add me on Facebook, James Griffin, we could maybe hang out again next semester when we’re all back in Colorado.”

Nadia hovered her phone over her face. “I’ll make us a group chat. I’m Nadia Rizavi.”

“Ryan Kinkade.”

“Ina Leifsdottir.” 

“Great.” Nadia tapped away at her smartphone with her index finger. “Done. Just accept my request and I’ll make the group.”

“I’ll do it in the morning. Night.” James slumped back into the chair, wiggling to get more comfortable. The three of them could work out the bed situation, this was good enough. Aiming his eyes at a burnt out light, he attempted to block out the ashy smell radiating from the curtains behind him as sleep took him.

* * *

James dried off his toothbrush and placed it back into the freezer bag with his other toiletries. Tossing it back into his suitcase, he zipped up the back and tipped it onto its wheels. He slung his carry on over his shoulder and opened the door.

For the trouble he’d been put through, at least he got a few good stories. And a few great friends.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the MFEs


End file.
